


Beautiful Stranger

by invisible_slytherin



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dates, First Meetings, Fluff, High School Musical - Freeform, M/M, No Angst, Strangers to Lovers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, night drives, this is just happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:14:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29388249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/invisible_slytherin/pseuds/invisible_slytherin
Summary: "His eyes were the first thing that he noticed."Or, Sapnap meets Karl at a party and from then on he can't stop thinking about him.
Relationships: Karl Jacobs/Sapnap
Comments: 11
Kudos: 122





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on "Finally // Beautiful Stranger" by Halsey :]

_His eyes were the first thing that he noticed._

Sapnap was leaning against the kitchen counter talking to Dream, a bottle of beer in his right hand and his phone in his left one. The music was loud, beat coming through the speakers and reverberating against the walls, but even that seemed to dissipate as a boy he hadn’t seen before entered the room. It was almost as if every single one of Sapnap’s senses took a step back to let everything in him zero in on the stranger. Dream’s voice faded with the music, the crowd outside the door seemed to not matter, and his hand stopped before he could reach his mouth with the bottle. He was mesmerized.

The light in the kitchen was dim, the single lamp on the ceiling not strong enough to light up the whole room. But Sapnap felt as though the light wasn’t needed anyway, not when the boy who had stepped into the kitchen had eyes so bright they seemed to light up every single corner.

A nudge against his foot woke him up from the daydream state he seemed to have entered. Dream was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, a suspicious look on his face as he smirked at Sapnap. He shrugged, Dream knew him better than anyone, there was no point in denying that he was intrigued by the stranger at the door. 

“Hi, Karl,” Dream said, startling Sapnap into looking at him again. 

“Dream, hello.”

If Sapnap had thought that Karl’s eyes were bright, then he hadn’t been ready for the light beam that was his smile. It was happy and carefree, pretty on his face and inviting. It made Sapnap want to talk to him, make sure that that smile never left his face and that he was the reason behind it.

“I haven’t seen you in a while.” Dream moved from the table where he was leaning and stood in front of Karl.

“I’ve been busy with some projects. Classes are hard this semester.”

Karl shrugged and smiled at Dream before moving his eyes behind the tall boy’s shoulder, locking on Sapnap. They held eye contact for a few seconds, Sapnap trying to keep a grip around his emotions so they wouldn’t flow free and spill all over his face. The silence stretched out as they stared at each other, curious gazes and interested expressions. Sapnap felt his face heat up at the thought that Karl’s head could be full of thoughts similar to those in his own head.

“This is Sapnap,” Dream’s voice broke through their haze. “I don’t think the two of you have met before.”

Sapnap ignored the cocky grin on Dream’s face and took a step forward, closer. 

“Hi,” he said, for lack of anything better.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Karl’s voice was velvet, soft as it brushed Sapnap’s ears. Sapnap wanted to drink it in, he wanted Karl to talk for hours and to never stop listening to him. 

“Have you seen George?” Dream asked Karl. “He arrived before us and I haven’t seen him yet.”

“He was with Quackity in the living room last time I saw him,” Karl smiled again and Sapnap wanted to do something dumb like reach forward and trace his smile lines.

“I’m going to find him,” Dream nodded and left the kitchen before either of them could say anything or offer to come with him.

Sapnap wasn’t sure if he should thank Dream or curse his name. 

“So, you’re Sapnap,” Karl wondered out loud, opening the fridge and taking out a bottle of apple cider. “George and Dream talk about you sometimes.”

“That’s me." He took a gulp of his drink while trying to come up with something more to say. The last thing he wanted was for the conversation to end and for Karl to leave thinking he was boring and never talk to him again. “Though, I would take anything they have said about me with a grain of salt.”

“They haven’t said anything bad,” Karl reassured. “Do you know where the opener is?”

Sapnap reached a hand behind his back and felt around for the object he knew he had put there after he and Dream had opened their own bottles. In a bold move that made him almost not recognize himself, Sapnap grabbed Karl’s wrist and brought the hand that was holding the bottle closer to himself.

Karl stumbled a little, surprised a the sudden tug on his wrist and looked up at Sapnap’s face, watching with crimson cheeks as Sapnap opened his bottle for him. Karl’s eyes were locked on Sapnap’s, beautiful under the low light, standing out against his bright face. His pink lips were parted in surprise and Sapnap wasn’t sure which part of his face was more captivating.

“Thank you,” Karl breathed out.

Sapnap didn’t want to ever look away.

***

_The way he moved was hypnotizing._

Karl wasn’t what Sapnap would call a good dancer. He moved in a clumsy way, feet shuffling around the place and arms moving in unpredictable ways. There was nothing coordinated about the way he danced, but that didn’t make him any less fascinating.

Sapnap and Karl had left the kitchen after they finished their drinks and Karl had immediately walked to the side of the living room that was serving as the dance floor. He had attempted to pull Sapnap with him, but he wasn’t having it. He was terrible at dancing and he wasn’t about to embarrass himself in front of Karl.

The room was full of people, a sea of dancing bodies moving and bumping into each other. Sapnap was leaning against the wall, eyes locked on Karl as he danced. The wall was vibrating against his back with the bass and his heart was beating with it. Karl was walking towards him and Sapnap didn’t even have it in him to pretend like he hadn’t been staring at him this whole time.

“Come dance,” he yelled over the music. 

Sapnap shook his head. 

“Please?” Karl grabbed his arm and looked at him with a smile and a pleading expression. 

“I don’t dance.”

“Chad also didn’t dance until he did.”

“Who’s Chad?”

Karl blinked at him, eyebrows furrowing in contemplation. 

“You’ve never watched High School Musical?”

“Should I have?”

“Yes.” Karl punched his arm gently. “You have to watch it. I’m going to make you watch it. With me.”

Sapnap felt his lips twist in a smile, Karl wanted to hang out with him after the party and there was not a single thing that would ever make him miss the opportunity to spend more time with the boy that had walked into his life without any warning and now wouldn’t leave his head. Whatever it was that Karl wanted to do, watch a movie, go to a café or even run a few laps around town, Sapnap would do gladly.

“It’s a date,” he said.

His breath hitched once he realized what he had said. It was a normal way to reply, but saying it to Karl felt different from saying it to Dream or George when they were planning something to do together. Saying it to Karl felt more real, it had different connotations and, although Sapnap was pretty sure that Karl was on the same page he was, it was still nerve-wracking to watch Karl’s eyes roam his face as he processed the words Sapnap had said.

“It’s a date,” Karl smiled at him, soft and happy before his lips flickered into a smirk. “On one condition.”

Sapnap raised an eyebrow at him.

“What is it?”

“Dance with me.”

"Why do you want me to dance with you so bad?"

"Because I want you to loosen up. You look so tense," Karl teased, hands coming up to rest on Sapnap's shoulders and squeezing them. "It's a party!"

Sapnap sighed and straightened up from his position. He couldn't say no when Karl was looking at him all excited and smiling and promising him a date. It was unfair how affected he was by someone he had met barely one hour ago.

"Come on." 

The hands left his shoulders and Sapnap didn’t even have time to prepare himself before Karl’s left hand was sliding down his arms, leaving his skin tingling for more, and grabbing his own hand. He felt his breath stutter as Karl squeezed his hand and pulled him along to the dance floor.

Sapnap let himself be dragged along. Foolishly, he thought that he would let Karl drag him anywhere.

It wasn’t fun to have people he didn’t know pressed against him, but Karl’s smile was beautiful and more than enough to make up for it. Karl danced around him, carefree and unrestrained. He grabbed Sapnap’s hands in his and made him move a little with the music, prompting him to loosen up and enjoy the moment without caring about anyone else but him.

Karl laughed, high pitched and dazzling, as Sapnap twirled him in the little space he had, almost making him bump into the two girls who were standing closest to them. Karl apologized to them even though he looked anything but regretful, eyes full of mirth when he turned back and twirled Sapnap too.

There was something incredibly freeing about dancing under the colourful lights of a house party with a boy he had just met. Something incredible ethereal about the way Karl laughed and smiled and looked at Sapnap in a way that no one had looked at him before. He never wanted this moment to end, never wanted the song to finish and to let go of Karl’s hands. He wanted to be close to him, to look into his eyes and to make him laugh as if they were the only people in the world. 

He wanted Karl to want the same things.

***

_Karl’s voice was his favourite soundtrack._

In the week that Sapnap had known Karl, they had been on the phone together for more hours than he could count, than he cared to count. Any free time they had, they would send each other a message and if the other could, they would jump to a call and stay there for hours. It was a routine Sapnap had never had with anyone else, but one he had gotten used to so quickly and wouldn’t trade for anything.

He would never grow tired of hearing Karl talk about what he was doing, about things that he liked and what he was passionate about. His voice would get higher-pitched, he would talk faster, excited. Sapnap could sit for hours listening to him without getting tired. Karl’s voice in his ears was a song he could never get tired of, no matter how many times he listened to it.

“How did you meet Dream and George?” Karl asked.

It was late at night. After dinner, Sapnap had sat in the living room with Dream and George, the tv as background noise while they wrote down a grocery list for when they went shopping the next day. It had already been hours since then though, and the three of them had already moved to their bedrooms and closed their doors. Now, Sapnap was laying on his bed, eyes heavy with sleep as he and Karl went into the second hour of their phone call.

“I’ve known Dream since we were little.” His sheets ruffled under him as he shuffled to get comfortable. “He hit me in the head with a ball in middle school and we’ve been friends since. We only met George when we started uni here.”

Karl laughed, loud at first and then abruptly muffled.

“What?” Sapnap chuckled.

“He hit you with a ball and you decided that he would be your best friend?”

“Well, I guess I did.”

“You’re so dumb.”

Stupidly, he thought that the word ‘dumb’ sounded more fond than insulting when it came from Karl. He pretended for a second that Karl was next to him with his soft eyes and lovely smile, laugh louder without the interference of a phone, making fun of him for being friends with someone after getting hit in the face with a ball. Maybe Karl would reach out with his hand and shove Sapnap’s shoulder, maybe he would ruffle his hair. Maybe Sapnap could be the one reaching out and poke Karl’s cheek.

“And you keep talking to me despite that.” Sapnap rubbed his eyes.

“Hmm,” Karl hummed in agreement.

“You must like me a lot then. If you think I’m dumb but still talk to me.”

“I do like you a lot.”

Sapnap smiled, a warm feeling settling over his body at hearing Karl’s candid words. They had come so effortlessly as if they were so clearly true that there was nothing he could do other than set them free and let Sapnap hear them. They spread like a fire inside his chest, a flame that ignited and he couldn’t see every dying out.

“I like you a lot too," he said, words cutting off with a yawn as he felt his eyes close.

He wouldn’t mind hearing Karl say those words to him every day for the rest of his life.

***

_Spending time with Karl had quickly become his favourite thing._

“Karl is coming over.” Sapnap opened the fridge and pretended like he wasn’t feeling Dream and George’s stares burning the back of his head. 

“What are you guys going to be doing?” George asked after a beat of silence.

Sapnap grabbed a bottle of orange juice and closed the door. He turned to the two of them and rolled his eyes at their matching smirking faces. 

“How is that any of your business?”

“No reason,” Dream grinned. “Can’t we be curious?”

“Can’t I have guests?”

“Of course, you can. We just want to know if we should leave the house empty for the two of you.”

Dream wiggled his eyebrows at him. George looked like he was struggling not to laugh and Sapnap wondered, not for the first time, why he thought that sharing a house with them had ever been a good idea.

“You guys are terrible.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Sapnap ignored him and left the kitchen, pretending not to hear the barking laughter he left behind. They could laugh all they wanted. Karl was coming over and that was all that mattered, his roommates could have their fun. He would get back at them some other time, he wasn’t the only lovesick fool in the apartment after all. 

Not even 15 minutes later, the sound of the doorbell sounded through the house and Sapnap jumped out of his bed, rushing to the door. He wasn’t fast enough. By the time he got to the door, Dream and George were already opening it, grins that promised mischief on their faces.Sapnap should have told Karl to meet up at his house.

“Hello, Karl,” George was saying while Dream closed the door behind them.

“Hi.” Karl smiled at them, shuffling on his feet and pulling his sleeves over his hands.

He was beautiful. Wearing a jean jacket over a colourful jumper that made Sapnap want to take him into his arms and give him the biggest of hugs. Never let him go. But he also looked nervous between Dream and George, who were still grinning at him like idiots, and Sapnap hurried over to get him out of that situation. 

“Karl,” he said, annoyance slipping away as Karl turned to look at him with bright eyes.

“Sap!”

“So, what are you guys going to be doing? I asked Sapnap earlier but he refused to answer me.”

Sapnap turned his head sharply to glare at Dream. His friends were getting a kick out of making fun of him, especially now that it was in front of Karl, and he didn’t even want to think what they would say if he and Karl stood near them for much longer.

“We’re going to watch High School Musical,” Karl told them, seemingly not noticing the twin teasing expressions.

“High School Musical?”

“It’s a great movie,” Karl defended. “And Sapnap never watched it before, so I have to change that.” He aimed the last part directly at him and Sapnap didn’t want to ever look away and break the eye contact.

“Let’s go to my room?” He asked.

“You’re going to your room? I thought you were staying in the living room,” George sounded genuine, but Sapnap had known him for years, he knew better than to think it was an innocent question. The only thing George wanted was more material to tease him.

“You guys are annoying,” Sapnap told him. “I don’t want to deal with you and neither does Karl.”

Karl looked like he was going to talk, probably tell George and Dream that he didn’t mind their company and even invite them to watch the movie with them. Sapnap couldn’t have that. He didn’t want his friends to tease him, but, above all, he wanted to spend time alone with Karl with no one to interrupt them.

He had been looking forward to this moment ever since they had planned on watching the movie together. The only thing going through his head were images of sitting next to Karl on his bed, legs touching as they watched the movie. Looking over and seeing Karl’s focused face. He wanted to experience everything he had thought about and he would be damned if he let Dream or George ruin it for him.

Sapnap reached out a hand and grabbed Karl’s, firmly pulling him along to his room.

“I’m sorry for them.” Was the first thing he said once they were in his room and the door was closed. “They like to be annoying.”

“I don’t mind,” Karl laughed, pulling his jacket off and looking at him in question.

“You can put it in my chair.” He pointed at the chair by his desk.

Karl put the jacket over Sapnap’s chair as he grabbed his laptop and set it in the middle of the bed. 

“You can get comfortable, I’m going to get some snacks for us. If George hasn’t eaten them all yet.”

Karl chuckled and Sapnap left the room, heart beating fast at the thought that Karl was in his room and was going to watch a movie with him. 

“Already left him alone in your room?” Dream asked.

His roommates were sitting in the living room with the tv on, some action movie playing. 

“I hate the both of you,” he said, shaking his head and trying not to seem amused.

As aggravating as the two of them were, he still loved them. And he knew that they would never do anything to ruin a chance he had with Karl. Or anyone else he liked for that matter. Teasing each other and making fun of each other was just part of their friendship at this point.

He went into the kitchen and grabbed the bag of gummy bears he had left on the table and returned to the living room, eager to go back to his room and finally spend some alone time with Karl.

“Have fun with your boy,” Dream called out.

“You too,” he grinned at the two of them and turned around, not wanting to see their fumbling responses.

Karl was already sitting on his bed when he got there. His legs were stretched out in front of him, he had taken off his sneakers and his socks were red with yellow polka dots. He had his phone in his right hand, the left one absentmindedly playing with the collar of his jumper. Sapnap wanted to lay next to him, pull him closer and cuddle with him while they watched the movie, maybe stay like that even after the movie ended.

“I’m back,” he said. “And I brought gummy bears.”

"You spoil me," Karl laughed but made grabby hands for the bag.

Sapnap threw the sweets at him and sat down on the other side of the bed, close enough so that it wasn’t awkward, but far away enough so that they weren’t touching. He wanted to sit closer, but the last thing he wanted was to make Karl uncomfortable in any way.

He put on the movie and settled back against the headboard, taking a few gummy bears for himself when Karl offered him the bag. The movie started off slow with snow on New Year’s Eve and basketball and books. Then, there was the first song and Sapnap watched from the corner of his eye as Karl mouthed all the words to ‘The Start of Something New’.

“How many times have you watched this movie?” 

Karl turned his head to look at him, a sheepish smile on his face.

“Too many?” He worded it like a question and raised his hand to mess with his hair. Sapnap wanted to touch Karl’s hair too.

“I guess I’ll have to catch up if I want to sing the songs with you.”

“You want to sing the songs with me?”

Sapnap wondered how Karl could think, for even a second, that he would lie to him, or that he wouldn’t want to have fun with him. Singing with Karl to a movie that he clearly loved seemed like a dream to him. If he had to learn the words to every single High School Musical song, then so be it. The reward seemed to be much bigger than any work he would have to put in.

“Of course. Teach me the words and we can have a karaoke party. Just like Troy and Gabriella.”

“Does our karaoke party end the same way as theirs?”

Sapnap turned sharply to look at him. The sound of the two main characters in the movie singing ‘What I’ve Been Looking For’ sounding through the room.

Karl’s eyes were bright with the reflection of the movie, focused entirely on Sapnap’s face. His smile held promises that Sapnap couldn’t quite comprehend yet, but didn’t want to look away from. Karl was a book he never wanted to end, the song he played on repeat. 

He already had Karl’s number, but he wanted the implication of what ending up like Troy and Gabriella meant. Ending up together, having Karl in his arms.

The song came to a stop, the last piano key ringing out, and Sapnap smiled at Karl.

“If that’s what you want, I would want nothing more.”

The distance between them felt pointless at that point, the gap he had been careful to create as to not make Karl uncomfortable felt unnecessary. He wanted to be closer, feel the other’s body against him. And, from the way Karl was looking at him, he could guess that the feeling was mutual.

He put an arm around Karl, bringing him closer so that their sides were pressed together. Karl laid his head on Sapnap’s shoulder and Sapnap laid his head on his.

He never wanted to move again.


	2. Chapter 2

_ Being with Karl was never boring. _

Sapnap stretched his arms above his head, hearing the satisfying crack of his bones. He had been sitting in the same position for hours. One of his professors had decided to give them a heavy workload to finish in a span of only two days and Sapnap had finally finished it. It had taken him up until a few minutes before the deadline, but at least he had managed to do it. 

A knock at his door sounded through his room and before he could even answer, Dream was pushing open the door and stepping in.

“What’s the point of knocking if you’re going to come in without waiting?”

Dream shrugged. “Just a warning.”

“You’re a pain in the ass.”

“Here’s your phone,” Dream ignored him. “It’s been buzzing for the past hour. George was going to throw it out the window.”

“I would throw him out the window right after.”

Dream laughed and threw the phone at his bed. He stared at Sapnap for a minute and smirked when he saw Sapnap’s raised eyebrow. 

“What?” Sapnap took the bait.

“You might want to look at the phone soon.” Dream walked backwards and grinned at him, knowing perfectly well what his nonchalant attitude was doing to Sapnap. “It’s Karl.”

“Leave.” Sapnap pointed at the door.

“Don’t leave your boy waiting.”

“Leave.” He repeated and settled for showing Dream his middle finger.

Dream laughed at him on his way out, but Sapnap could barely hear him over the knowledge that Karl had been trying to talk to him. He waited for the door to close, only because he didn’t want Dream to witness the way he ran to the bed and the eagerness as he picked up his phone and unlocked it.

_ hey you up??  _ \- 11:17pm

_ saaaap _ \- 11:22pm

_ talk to meeee - 11:24pm _

_ are you asleep? - 11:27pm _

_ you usually don’t sleep this early - 11:28pm _

_ you suck :[ - 11:39pm _

_ i need new friends - 11:47pm _

Sapnap shook his head. Karl had sent so many texts in such a small span of time because he hadn’t replied to him the first time. If it had been someone else, Sapnap would probably be annoyed, probably think they were clingy and reply with few words. But this was Karl and Sapnap would never complain about getting texts from Karl, about him wanting to talk to him. 

_ i’m sorry :( - 12:17am _

_ i was doing an assignment - 12:17am _

  
  


_ can’t believe an assignment is more important than me D: - 12:18am _

_ nooo :( - 12:19am _

_ never - 12:19am _

_ and here i was about to ask you on a date - 12:20am _

_ :o - 12:20am _

_ a date? - 12:20am _

Sapnap felt his heart beat faster, drumming against his ribcage. Karl wanted to ask him to spend time together. He wanted to go out with him again. And, above all, he had used the word date. It would be a date. The implications behind the word made Sapnap’s brain spin a little. The thought of long talks, hand-holding during walks, kisses on the cheek and shiny eyes. There was nothing else he wanted in the world. 

_ you shouldn’t be so surprised - 12:22am _

_ of course a date - 12:22am _

_ and when would this date be? - 12:23am _

_ now - 12:23am _

Sapnap blinked, read the time at the top of his screen twice and looked back at the text.  _ Now.  _ He wanted to go on a date now, at nearly 12:30am. 

_ now?? - 12:25am _

_ why not - 12:26am _

_ i want to see you :] - 12:26am _

And Sapnap had classes at 9am the next morning. He should be getting ready to sleep if he wanted to get a decent night of rest. He should be making the right decision, the smart, responsible one. But Karl wanted to take him on a date and, even if it was the middle of the night, even if there were classes the next day, he wasn’t going to say no to that.

_ and where are we going? - 12:28am _

_ is that a yes? - 12:28am _

_ as if i could ever say no to you - 12:29am _

_ :D - 12:30am _

_ aren’t you telling me where we’re going? - 12:31am _

_ now where would the fun in that be? - 12:32am _

_ i wanna know :( - 12:32am _

_ you’ll know soon enough - 12:33am _

_ i’ll pick you up in 15 <33 - 12:33am _

_ <33 - 12:33am _

With the conversation over and the reality that he only had fifteen minutes to get ready before Karl would be there to pick him up, Sapnap locked his phone and threw it to the bed, almost running to his wardrobe in his haste to take as little time as possible but still look presentable. 

His hands were slippery with sweat as he opened the wooden door of his wardrobe and his fingers were shaking. His heart was still beating at an unreasonable pace. He was going on a date with Karl. 

He picked up a pair of black jeans and pondered whether to put on a button-up shirt or something more simple. It was a date, a date he wanted to look good for, put in the effort and impress Karl. But, it was also the middle of the night, it was very unlikely that they would go somewhere fancy and he would probably end up feeling overdressed. 

He grabbed a white hoodie that he had worn one too many times. It was warm and, although very casual, Dream had once told him that he looked good in it, so he was choosing to trust his best friend on this one.

He got dressed and stood in front of the mirror for more time than he wanted to admit trying to fix his hair. He hadn’t washed it in three days with the pressure of university projects and the number of times he had run his hands through it while working hadn’t done him any favours. 

His phone vibrated on his bed and Sapnap tucked a final piece of hair behind his ear and grabbed his phone, wallet and jacket before leaving the room.

He was hoping that his roommates were already in their room, locked away and sleeping and that they wouldn’t notice him going out. Alas, he wasn’t lucky and, when he got to the living room he saw George there.

He was sitting on the floor, papers scattered around him and a pen between his teeth, highlighting in yellow some lines in a textbook. He looked up as he heard Sapnap’s footsteps and raised an eyebrow at his appearance.

“Going somewhere?” He grabbed the pen that had been in his mouth.

“Yes.”

“Does it have anything to do with your phone turning into a vibrator while you were in your room?”

“I am going out with Karl. What’s in it to you?”

George grinned, way too teasing for Sapnap’s liking and turned back to his papers.

“Nothing. Nothing. Have fun.”

“I will.”

Sapnap shook his head, amused at George’s antics and left him with his papers. 

The night air was cold and Sapnap thought about going back inside to get a thicker coat. He couldn’t afford to catch a cold in the middle of the busiest weeks of the school year. But, as he looked up, the cold was replaced with warmth and all concerns about getting sick fled from his mind.

Karl was already waiting for him. The car was parked in front of the building, black like the night sky, and Karl was leaning against it. His arms were crossed over his chest, a jean jacket over a knitted sweater. He was smiling and Sapnap couldn’t have been warmer.

“Hello,” Karl greeted him. 

His cheeks were red from the cold and Sapnap wanted to lean in and kiss them. Before he could give in to his impulse, Karl stepped away from the car and turned so he could open the door for Sapnap to get in the car.

“Milady,” Karl bowed.

Sapnap laughed at the act but copied Karl’s movement before getting in. He settled in the passenger seat and sighed in contentment when the warm air conditioning hit him. Karl’s car smelled like a mixture of his cologne and cinnamon. Stupidly, Sapnap felt like he could live inside that car and be happy.

“So, where are we going?” He asked once Karl was inside the car too.

Karl started the car, no response falling from his lips. Sapnap turned his head to look at him, ready to ask again and again until he got an answer, but was silenced by the prominent blush on Karl’s face. This time, it couldn’t be from the cold since the car was more than warm enough so Sapnap was confused as to what was making Karl flushed.

“What?” He asked reaching with his index finger to poke Karl’s right cheek.

“I might not have planned anything…” He trailed off, eyes flickering to Sapnap for a second before returning to the road. 

“I thought you wanted to take me somewhere.”

“It wasn’t that I wanted to take you somewhere specific.” Karl brought a hand up to mess with his hair before turning to give him a nervous smile. “It was just that I wanted to spend time with you.”

Sapnap felt his heart squeeze in his chest, his stomach did a weird flip and he had to suppress the sudden need to sigh. He felt like a teenager again, having his first crush and not knowing what to expect or how to deal with what he was feeling. Karl made him feel giddy with his words, he made his whole being flutter with the way he looked at him.

“I also couldn’t sleep,” Karl added.

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer earlier.”

“Do you think you’ll have a good grade on your assignment?”

“I hope so. Though in the end I just wanted to get it over with and never look at it again.”

“I’m sure you’ll do great.”

Sapnap wasn’t so sure, but he let Karl’s words wash over him and allowed himself to believe in them for the time being. He didn’t want to worry about his assignments or even think about them, the only thing he wanted on his mind was the way the street lights shone through the window and touched Karl’s face.

“I know what we should do,” he grinned. 

Sapnap took his phone out of the pocket of his jeans and opened Spotify. He scrolled through his songs looking for the perfect one, this moment felt so important he wanted it to be perfect. He wanted this night to play out in a way that would be engraved into their memories for years, he wanted to be old and remember everything about this night. He wanted Karl to remember it too. To remember  _ him _ too. 

> _ Take me to your best friend's house _
> 
> _ Roll around this roundabout _

He cracked the volume up to the maximum and laughed as he saw the way Karl’s face split into a grin. Karl started humming along to the song and Sapnap almost turned the music down so he could hear him more clearly. He wanted to hear Karl sing instead of hum, wanted him to hear his voice.

Being in Karl’s car, in the middle of the night, driving aimlessly through the city with the music on felt like magic. Sapnap felt like the main character of an 80’s movie, he felt on top of the world, nothing could touch him and bring him down as long as Karl was next to him, humming to the songs playing through his phone.

In a sudden decision that he might regret tomorrow if he caught a cold, Sapnap rolled down the window and put his arm outside. The air was cold, his hand felt numb with it but he didn’t want to ruin the movie scene that was playing in his head, so he didn’t move.

“You’re going to get us both sick,” Karl laughed.

“Are you cold? I can close it.” He didn’t care much about himself if it meant keeping his fantasy alive, but if Karl wanted him to close the window, he would.

He thought he would do anything for Karl. From something small like closing the car window, to something impossible like flying to Saturn so they could watch the rings and diamond rains together.

“Don’t worry. We can keep it open for now,” he hesitated for a second. “You look pretty with the wind in your hair.”

Sapnap didn’t think that he would ever get used to Karl’s compliments. Each one of them lit a fire inside him and kickstarted his heart into a frantic beat. He had never felt this way before, he hadn’t felt so intensely about someone, never cared so much for their words or for the way their eyes would meet his. No one had ever been like Karl.

No one would ever be like Karl.

***

_ Karl made him happier. _

Karl’s bedroom was tidy, way tidier than Sapnap’s. His books were organized on the shelves and his pens and pencils were inside two cups on his desk. Both of the cups were decorated with colourful stickers, as was the wall in front of the desk. On his shelves, there were some figurines of fantasy characters and, above the bed, Karl kept a few cartoon posters.

Although it was his first time there, Sapnap felt at home and he wasn’t sure if it was because Karl’s room was neat, because it smelled like vanilla or because Karl was there with him.

“Did you like it?” Karl asked.

They were laying on Karl’s bed, Sapnap on his back and Karl on his side, head resting on his hand and looking down at him. They had spent the afternoon watching the second High School Musical movie and Sapnap had spent too much time watching Karl mouth over multiple lines instead of watching the movie, humming along to the songs as Karl sang them.

He wouldn’t ever forget the first moment he heard Karl actually singing, not just mouthing words or humming, but singing. He was quiet at first and Sapnap could tell that he was nervous about singing in front of him, so he tried to give him an encouraging look, a confident smile. And it had seemed to work, for a few minutes later, when ‘You Are the Music in Me’ started playing, Karl started singing along.

And it was beautiful. The way he knew the words but still stumbled on them sometimes and interrupted himself with giggles, the way he nodded his head to the beat and shifted his body from side to side. Sapnap was enamoured by him.

“I did. I think I liked it even better than the first one.”

“Understandable, I guess. I still like the first one better because it’s such a classic you know, but this one is so good too. I think my favourite part is when they’re in the kitchen and sing ‘Work This Out’ and bang the pans and decide that things might suck but if they stay together they can make it work and still have fun.”

Sapnap smiled as he heard Karl ramble about the movie and the characters and the moments he had liked the most when he was little and how his opinions had changed since then. He could lay there and listen to Karl talk about anything he wanted for hours, he would gladly sit there and listen to him well into the night and he wouldn’t complain for a second. He would want it.

“And now you know Chad and how he didn’t dance until he did,” Karl added.

Sapnap laughed at that, remembering one of their first conversations. The way they had danced together with the colourful lights of the party shinning in Karl’s eyes. The way Karl had smiled at him and the pressure of his hands on his shoulder. Sapnap hadn’t been able to stop looking at him then and he couldn’t stop staring at him now.

“He only started dancing when he met someone who made him want to dance.”

And the implications of that sentence were clear and out in the open. Sapnap knew what he was saying, knew what he was implying and, when he looked into Karl’s eyes, he knew that he had understood it. He knew now, with absolute certainty, that they were on the same page.

His heart raced when he saw the way Karl’s eyes seemed to shine brighter than the computer screen in front of them. Watched as a grin stretched across his face and as he looked down, seemingly shy from the attention he was getting from him.

Sapnap wanted to plant kisses on his cheeks, watch them bloom in red patches across his face. 

And he could do it. He could. So, he did.

He reached out with a hand a caressed Karl’s cheek with his thumb, felt his eyelashes brush against the pad of his finger when they fluttered. He could see the freckles on his face, wanted to get closer to count them one by one and leave the ghost mark of his touch on each one. He leaned in and brushed his lips against Karl’s cheek, felt him exhale against his skin.

He felt like he was in heaven. There couldn’t possibly be anywhere higher than this, there couldn’t be anything better than feeling Karl’s skin against his, feeling the warmth of his blush against his lips, hearing him breathe against his ear. 

Karl was his heaven.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it. I'll try my best to finish it soon, but uni takes up a lot of my time so it might take me a little. 
> 
> Leave a comment if you want, I love reading them!!
> 
> I'm [@bikarls](https://twitter.com/bikarls) on twitter if you want to follow me :]


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